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Cops come up empty-handed in request for another $268,795

Police Chief Brad Duncan listens to remarks from Mayor Joe Fontana during a meeting of council’s corporate services committee Tuesday. Fontanta ripped up a copy of a police request for more money. (CRAIG GLOVER, The London Free Press)

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While the mayor apologized for publicly ripping up a copy of the London police letter seeking $268,795 more from taxpayers to cover a 2013 budget shortfall, he didn’t back off his hardline stance on the force’s spiralling spending and rejected the request.

Bryant, one of council’s two appointees to the board that oversees London police, repeated the misleading statements of some police brass, that council cut the 2013 police budget, which caused the near-$269,000 shortfall.

While council trimmed the force’s requested 2013 increase by $633,000 — the first time council has ever done that — the London police budget actually had a seven-figure increase last year.

Does that sound like a cut to you?

Bryant later clarified in an interview she meant the budget as police presented it was cut. But when Chief Brad Duncan chafes at news reports the force “overspent” in 2013 — a word he argues is inaccurate — every comment clearly needs scrutiny.

Though politicians are still granting large annual budget increases to police, in the past two years Fontana has led the charge to scale back the hikes. He agreed Tuesday, it’s one of the biggest breakthroughs in his mayoral term.

“This notion (exists) that you can keep coming to the City of London for more money,” Fontana said. “Well, it isn’t our money. It belongs to taxpayers.”

Given the comments Duncan made to politicians Tuesday, it sounds like police may pull the near-$270,000 needed from a fund often used for major investigations.

But is that necessary? Earlier this week, one council veteran said there’s another option.

“They don’t have to rob the reserves,” Coun. Nancy Branscombe said. “They could lay some people off. It’s not rocket science.”

Given the clear public frustration with police spending, the never-before-seen step of going to council for more money may have been ill-advised. And it only grew more complex when The Free Press reported Duncan pocketed a $13,000 raise in 2013 while delivering the first budget deficit in force history.

Incredibly, during Tuesday’s debate, Bryant credited the chief and his two deputies for taking pay freezes in recent years — not mentioning the 2013 deficit would be reduced by more than 10% had they not accepted raises last year.

Fontana didn’t offer an opinion on the raises given to Duncan and deputies Brent Shea and John Pare amid the spending crunch, though he noted city hall managers took pay freezes in several recent years.

“You got to do what you got to do,” Fontana said.

Duncan left city hall without speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s vote.

“Let me formally apologize . . . for ripping up the letter. I think it was improper, so I apologize.”

Mayor Joe Fontana

“Is this setting a precedent? I don’t remember any boards or commissions coming back and asking us to fill a gap.”

Coun. Harold Usher

“The kind of e-mails I’m getting these days are very dispiriting. (We may) lose public confidence in the very people who put their lives at stake to protect us.”

Coun. Joe Swan

“If (police need money to cover a major investigation’s costs), we’re not going to just say, ‘Go away.’ ”

Coun. Bud Polhill

“If we lay people off, obviously there would be a cut in service.”

Coun. Judy Bryant

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What’s good for one . . .

The contract given to city hall’s unionized outside workers should be exactly what the next deal with London’s police officers looks like, Mayor Joe Fontana says.

Tuesday, Fontana told reporters the pact signed last month by CUPE Local 107 should be the template when contract talks start in a few months with London police.

CUPE 107, which represents more than 500 workers who do outdoor work such as road paving, has a new deal, running from 2016-19, that gives them two years without raises followed by yearly hikes of 1% and 1.1%. (In the two frozen years, there are one-time payouts of $500 and $600.)

The London Police Association represents 600 officers plus civilian staff. A four-year deal that gave them 2.8% annual raises expires at year’s end.

During the past decade, London police pay hikes have outpaced provincial inflation by 32%.